The 49ers and Jimmy Garoppolo have reportedly agreed on a five-year, $137.5 million contract, making him — for now — the NFL's highest-paid player. Is he worth that? Subscribers, discuss along with our staff and The Athletic community.

At least on the surface, I think the 49ers got this contract right: They rewarded the amazing potential that Garoppolo showed in December with a record-sized contract, and they managed to include a mitigator (only $74 million guaranteed) as supposed acknowledgment of the small sample size here. Plus, the 49ers got this contract done early, and that carries value in and of itself entering free agency. In totality: Yes, it's worth it.

Definitely worth it. You could argue he's actually underpaid based on his worth to the 49ers. Without a good QB, you can't compete.

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Bruce S.

Feb 8, 8:38pm

4 likes

He'll only be the highest paid for a few months.

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David L.

STAFF

Feb 8, 8:39pm

33 likes

At least on the surface, I think the 49ers got this contract right: They rewarded the amazing potential that Garoppolo showed in December with a record-sized contract, and they managed to include a mitigator (only $74 million guaranteed) as supposed acknowledgment of the small sample size here. Plus, the 49ers got this contract done early, and that carries value in and of itself entering free agency. In totality: Yes, it's worth it.

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Huascar G.

Feb 8, 8:40pm

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Let’s face it he will be that for a short lived moments, after the products put out there yes he is worth it in today’s economy.

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Chingon M.

Feb 8, 8:40pm

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Thank Kirk Cousins for that. Seeing the circus with his contract situation over the years makes this a no-brainer. They had to make this happen.

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Erik B.

Feb 8, 8:40pm

I've seen ESPN report he is getting paid 90 million guaranteed over the first three years, and Maiocco say it is $74 million guaranteed. Any idea who has it correct?

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Andrew H.

Feb 8, 8:42pm

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I would assume Maiocco is closer to the situation being a more local reporter. Also BR and the NFL network said 74.

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George D.

Feb 8, 8:44pm

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74 guaranteed, 90 mil front loaded on the first three years is what I heard. The 90 mil is not guaranteed, just going to hit the cap earlier

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Paiom Y.

Feb 8, 8:40pm

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Yes, because the Raiders are paying Carr $25 mil a year and Jimmy G is far better. Plus, this deal will be old news within the month when another QB gets paid elsewhere. How many teams in the NFL actually have a good QB? 7? Worth every penny. #questforsix

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Jimmy S.

Feb 8, 8:41pm

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How can you say he’s a better QB off of a handful of games?

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David C.

Feb 10, 12:33am

Lol.

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Andrew P.

Feb 8, 8:40pm

2 likes

Absolutely. For two reasons: the NFL is a QB light league. You either have a good QB or a bad QB. If you have a good QB, do everything that needs to be done to lock him up long-term. The other being with how many QBs that are going to get paid soon (Cousins, Rodgers, etc.) this contract wont look as big money-wise as it does now.

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Matt F.

Feb 8, 8:41pm

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Obviously time will tell and there is always risk giving so much money to someone who has only started 7 games. But as Shanahan said, there are only 7 or so true franchise QBs, so if you think you have one, you pay the man. With that logic, 74M guaranteed isn't terrible.

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Andrew H.

Feb 8, 8:41pm

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Of course he is. This is the price of a franchise QB (Hint: you need one to win anything in the modern NFL) and in a few weeks when Kirk gets paid even more this won’t look like
much. John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan just hit a grand slam.

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Vinnie L.

Feb 8, 8:42pm

3 likes

Absolutely, not only is he a dream qb for Shannahan, he is far more valuable than the money he is getting paid. Fan interest (merchandise, ticket sales, PSL’s, etc) also FA’s will be jumping to come play with this guy

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Kelvin N.

Feb 8, 8:43pm

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As others said, this will be a short lived record as free agency is around the corner. Definitely great news for the 49ers

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Drew B.

Feb 8, 8:45pm

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Yes, I do. This is a momentary position. New QB contracts will likely exceed it this offseason. Moreover, if it’s $74M guaranteed as Maiocco reported it is really a 3 year deal- should things unexpectedly go bad.

Jimmy is being paid for future performance not overpaid for past performance. And, that future performance starts now in the offseason program, being in the building Day 1 continuing the good feelings coming out of this season and learning the entire offense with Shanahan and his teammates; and, helping with FA recruitment efforts. Having this down before Combine is a huge plus.

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Jimmy S.

Feb 8, 8:45pm

1 like

No, he looks promising but there’s no way he should be paid that much. You always need a franchise QB but it’s hard for me say he’s worth that big of a contract based off of a few games

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Matthew F.

Feb 9, 12:31am

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It’s not necessarily based off a few games...and did you watch those games? It’s clear he has vision, pocket presence, leadership, accuracy, decision making, elusiveness...sometimes you see a pkayer, and you know. We know.

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Brian P.

Feb 8, 8:46pm

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Yes. If you have a franchise QB, you pay the guy.

The fact that he's the highest paid player is meaningless with the constantly rising salary cap. This will be a forgone conclusion when Cousins gets his new contract.

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KH M.

Feb 8, 8:48pm

No.

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Ryan J.

Feb 8, 8:48pm

2 likes

Glad they got this deal done early. Is there a risk? Sure, but there always is a risk signing a an NFL QB for big money with a small sample size. You are paying for what he will do in the future, not what he has done thus far. Everything I have seen in his play, and the statistical metrics, says this guy is well on his way to being an elite QB.

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Joe C.

Feb 8, 8:51pm

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Based on just watching him and reading the coverage here and elsewhere, yes. Niners haven't had a QB with his combination of pocket feel / escapability, decision-making, and accuracy going back at least as far as Garcia. Assuming his deep ball accuracy improves with more familiarity with his receivers and a full training camp in the system, I expect he will surpass Garcia next year and become the no-doubt best Niners QB since Young.

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Joe C.

Feb 8, 8:52pm

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Plus, based on Cousins and the Franchise tag setting the market, it was a no-brainer.

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ogc O.

Feb 8, 10:58pm

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Plus better receivers and linemen coming in!

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Jimmy D.

STAFF

Feb 8, 8:52pm

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After Alex Smith got $23.5 million, it was clear Garoppolo was going exceed Carr's contract and would threaten Matthew Stafford's. Also became less reason for Garoppolo to play on the franchise tag because he was obviously going to get a deal worth more per year than the one-year tag figure. He probably could've gotten more by waiting out Cousins' deal, but that apparently wasn't that important to him and he's gonna get paid a ton. Feels like a win-win for both sides.

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ogc O.

Feb 8, 10:57pm

1 like

Exactly, very win-win, glad to see a player understanding that this contract is still life changing as well as fair, and not try to squeeze every penny out of the team.

He could have easily been sitting on the bench during the Super Bowl, and now wondering who would sign him, and if he would be a starter, let alone how much he might make.

He hit the jackpot, which he earned, and the team and fans hit the jackpot, he’s the real-life McDreamy QB, nice, self-effacing, shares his success knowing no i in team, and easy on the eyes, his poster will be up for both male and female fans, and great so far in making non-descript offensive players tops in the league. I think Niner fans are still pinching themselves to see if they are dreaming, as the saying goes, you cannot make up such a fairytale story, it would be unbelievable otherwise.

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Chingon M.

Feb 8, 8:59pm

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Raj Mathai with the breaking news though?!! Who saw that coming?

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Andrew B.

Feb 8, 9:20pm

Where is the Discussions column on the iPad app? iPhone app has it.

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Tyler O.

Feb 8, 10:03pm

1 like

No doubt the right decision by John Lynch

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George D.

Feb 8, 11:10pm

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Stafford makes 27 a year, and Jimmy GQ is easily worth an extra .5mil. I don’t understand anyone having an issue w this, especially when you factor in the cost of the Franchise tag over 3 years being 90 mil, without having him under control after that

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Akshay P.

Feb 8, 11:33pm

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Yes. Nuff said. When does training camp start?! The last couple of years I could have cared less.

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Matt G.

Feb 9, 12:16am

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Yes, yes, plus a thousand. People have to understand that every franchise qb who gets paid is the highest paid for a time in history. And they are all a gamble. But rolling the dice on Jimmy G isnt as much of a gamble as people might think. Although a small sample size is all we have. My eyeball test has been pretty accurate over the years. He isn’t a mirage. And Shanahans offense is perfect for any accurate qb. It’s a system based on quick reads and wrs in space both fit Jimmy perfect. And guess what if we went to the draft for the qb answers 2 things would not happen over this off season: free agents who have talent would consider unless we ponied up crazy doe. And we would be having address other critical pieces late (pass rush)in the draft which sucks.

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Joshua C.

Feb 9, 12:55am

5 likes

The only reason he's the highest paid is the length of the contract. He's giving up 3 FA years in this contract. That's huge. As we've seen in Baseball contracts you have to pony up quite a bit more when you account for FA years. In football they have Franchise Tag Years, and in Baseball they have Arbitration. They amount to the same thing though. Years the team controls. The FA years are years the player controls as we're all seeing with Cousins now (Although I believe he has one more FT year left). 27.5M/yr for the Franchise years is a lot. 27.5M for the FA years is a bargain for what prices will be in 3 years. Plus, they're front loading his deal so 90/137.5 is in the first 3 years. Meaning when it's time for us to start resigning our own players we'll have more financial flexibility. Well done Paraag.

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Luther C.

Feb 9, 1:22am

2 likes

%100 worth it.

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David S.

Feb 9, 1:43am

No. But I do think he will be very good and has the chance to prove me wrong.

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Jason N.

Feb 9, 3:51am

3 likes

Don’t underestimate the value of getting this done before free agency. Jimmy G is a good recruiting tool for those free agents who’d like to see some victories along with a sizable paycheck.

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Ralph K.

Feb 9, 4:04am

1 like

Small sample size, sure. But I’ve never seen one player have the kind of impact this guy had, at a time when it could have become really ugly for the organization.

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Michael A.

Feb 9, 4:35am

This will seem like a deal in a few months or by next off season.

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Dave B.

Feb 9, 5:07am

3 likes

He obviously shouldn't be making more than Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees, and he won't be fairly soon, but that he currently is the league's highest-paid player isn't the point. The contract he got is the going rate for a franchise QB who is about to hit the open market. The 49ers had to pay the man, and Garoppolo knew that the sooner they got the deal done, the better chances the 49ers would have to attract better free-agent talent to support him. That's a long-winded way of saying yes.

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Oliver G.

Feb 9, 5:08am

3 likes

QBs in the NFL are paid at a premium. They had to pay something, with the Niners being
proactive they set the market rather than allow the market set itself. If they would’ve waited, they would have to pay way more than what they’re paying now. I believe he’s worth it because he was able to rejuvenate a team that was going nowhere. Now that he’s locked in, the Niners can build around him and hopefully take them to the next level.

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Gary M.

Feb 9, 5:45am

No brainer. Watch him play and how he interacts with his teammates. He will be the highest paid qb again in 4-5 years. Great job John lynch and company.

Very much so worth it. We got the guy that's gonna take us to the next level. So pay the man. 9er fans get ready for some fun times coming at us fast Jimmy G baby.

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David S.

Feb 9, 8:58am

2 likes

No. Absolutely not, he isn’t worth that much. However the price is the going rate for competent quarterbacks entering free agency. It is what it is.

As fans, we get caught up on having a singular savior. It’s easier to focus on one person to turn winning around rather than the team. In a lot of instances overspending on one position doesn’t equate to long term success as other positions are severely impacted - see Oakland, Detroit, and Washington. I would have rather seen the money spent on getting better across the board. Which by luck the 49ers have the luxury of generous cap space.

Counter to my own opinion above the contract is good for the 49ers. The franchise tag for the next two years would be minimum of 24M and 28M meaning 52M. the average (26M) puts it near his 5yr average.

However if I were the 49ers I would front load the salaries 30, 30, 30, 27.5, 20 to decrease his financial impact later down the line. And try and keep the team competitive for the next 5 years. Most teams run in trouble by not being able to resign their own or FA

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Al R.

Feb 9, 9:29am

Spend the money getting better across the board you do know they would be able to sign all the elite f.a with $40 mil cap still left over for next year.

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Noah V.

Feb 9, 11:23am

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I think they front loaded the first 3 years to be 30,30,30, which I agree is a good thing to do

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Noah V.

Feb 9, 11:22am

3 likes

I’d rather them spend cap space on him then more of it on FAs they may cut in 2-3 years. Also if they tag him (which could irritate him and make him feel he should get to FA to leave) and look at a long term extension later the number he has to clear to be “highest paid” in the NFL likely moves up, so they may have saved a little on his long term deal as is.

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John B.

Feb 9, 2:40pm

2 likes

Absolutely. The sign for me was how he made everyone better - that’s the sign I was looking for. He will end up looking less expensive soon, I think.

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Louis W.

Feb 9, 3:33pm

1 like

Absolutely worth it. Just look at how he elevated the roster. Jimmy G turned 1-10 into 5-0. That just doesn’t happen. Shanahan was calling the same plays with the same mediocre roster and they never lost another game. Nothing seems to ruffle the guy. He is cool, calm and collected in the pocket. Signing him this early into the offseason shows the fans they mean business and shows free agents this is a place they want to be. Yes, he’s well worth it.

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Jerry M.

Feb 9, 3:58pm

1 like

Damn straight he's worth it.

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John C.

Feb 9, 5:36pm

Who cares how much he gets paid? Not our money. Quarterbacks that have talent get paid the big $$. Just add more talent on both sides of the line

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Armando M.

Feb 9, 7:27pm

It's a great move to stabilize one of the most important pieces to a football team. It may hinder them in paying money on free agency though

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David B.

Feb 9, 7:28pm

1 like

He is worth whatever the market says. With that said, considering the change that happened to the team the moment he stepped into the huddle vs Seattle, I would say he is.

It's obvious when watching hm, that the talent is upper echelon. Thanks nice thing is we are basing this on actual NFL experience. This isn't being based on watching his college tape; nor is it based on preseason playing vs 3rd stringers. He played 3 very solid defenses in that 5 game stretch. Bears, Titans and Jaguars. I won't count the Rams because they, in fact, did treat the game like the preseason.

The talent aside, he is also worth it, due to the excitement that he has brought back to the team. And let's face it, if the 49ers were to say "you know, your asking price is a bit much. No thanks." where would they have gone for a QB this talented? Settle for Case Keenum? Would that have the fans excited.

Last point: You can't put a price tag on the "it" factor. It's pretty obvious that he has "it".

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Erik L.

Feb 9, 8:10pm

3 likes

Yes, he is worth 27.5 Blaine Gabbarts.

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Brian B.

Feb 9, 10:43pm

1 like

Great move. By giving him more than Stafford, they're sending a message to the League (and free agents) that they're in it to win it. By the time the season starts, he will probably be, at best, the third or fourth highest paid so the pressure will be lessened. The way it's structured, the cap hit was handled brilliantly and with the picks the Niners have coming up, they're in an enviable situation. While it sucked to lose a few spots in the draft by having the Niners go on the "Jimmy tear" last year, it gave the team a chance to see if he was worth this kind of commitment. And he was. I'm impressed.

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David C.

Feb 10, 12:37am

Yes and no. The only choices the 49ers had were this contract or franchise tag. He hasn't "earned" this contract, but if he is as good as the FO thinks, they would end up paying even more next year. The best thing about this contract is the message it sends to free agents

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David C.

Feb 10, 12:39am

I just hope he doesn't become super Matt Flynn

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Michael M.

Feb 10, 2:42am

Yes

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Brandon L.

Feb 10, 4:50am

Considering it would cost just as much or more to franchise him, yes. Middlekauff made a good point; Redskins tried to get cute and tag cousins two years in a row, ending up paying him basically what they would have paid him in long term guarantees in two seasons. They may as well have signed him, and the Niners are smart to realize that.

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Christopher P.

Feb 10, 5:44pm

He won’t be the highest paid player for long. This QB inflation reminds me of the inflating price of pitchers in MLB. When the Nationals signed Scherzer, it was an insane and risky deal for absurd cash. Now? You have middle of the road pitchers making over 15 million a year.

Will he be worth it? Yes. But more because in four years, the money won’t look as ridiculous.

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Carlos V.

Feb 10, 9:33pm

1 like

Yes. All he does is win games.

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Brian N.

Feb 11, 3:18am

It’s a lot of money for a somewhat unknown... that said, he’s a QB, and this is the going rate. If they wait, they’ll have to work out a deal based on what Cousins, Brees, and Rodgers get. Even if you franchise him and he has an average season, his price tag is still going to be high. The reality is this, his price tag was never getting lower. It would only continue to rise. And the way the contract is structured, to be front loaded, it’s as team friendly of a deal as you can get.

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Kevin P.

Feb 11, 4:07am

I agree with the contract and heck, I’m openly ok with them giving him a huge salary for 2018. Now they need shore up the ol and capable playmakers...they still have a lot of cap space and they need to be judicious with that. They can’t afford to overpaid people